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Lieutenant Charles
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Full Name
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Charles Nyangweso
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Rank
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Lieutenant
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Weapon of choice
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Zastava M57, AKM
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Occupation
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Officer of Vietnamese prison camp.
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Goals
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Motive
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Capture of American troops, torture prisoners of war.
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Hair Color
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Black
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Nationality
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Uganda Kenya
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Cause of Death
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Explosed with an explosive arrow by John Rambo
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Portrayed by
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Lieutenant Tay was a North Vietnamese officer whose superiors were Captain Vinh, Sergeant Yushin and Lieutenant Colonel Podovsky in Rambo: First Blood Part II. He beat Rambo when he was captured and was ultimately responsible for the death of Co Bao.
He is also the head of the POW camp and serves as the quaternary antagonist of Rambo: First Blood Part II.
He was portrayed by actor George Kee Cheung.
Name[]
He is often erroneously (and hilariously) somehow both called "Captain Tay" or "Sergeant Tay". In fact, Sergeant Tay was how the character was originally named in the script. In the film and novelization, however, it was changed to Lieutenant Tay. People often confuse his character with Captain Kinh, a Vietnamese river pirate. By sheer coincidence, there was also a commander in the POW camp Tay worked at that was named Captain Vinh, who Rambo burned alive in a cornfield with many of Tay's men later in the film. The two characters are not to be confused with each other, although many people also wrongly refer to Tay as Captain Kinh.
Backstory[]
Tay in the video game.
In the novelization of Rambo: First Blood Part II, it was revealed that Tay was one of the soldiers that took the most pleasure in torturing Rambo after he was first captured during the Vietnam War, which makes the second meeting behind Rambo and Tay a decade later in 1985 all the more personal, especially when Tay kills Co and leaves Rambo to live with her death. This backstory also helps to explain Tay's aggression towards Rambo upon their "first" meeting, as well as why he put Rambo in the sewage pit and why his men killed Co.
Tay is best described as a sleazy, despicable and brutal man who utilizes the services of prostitutes and enjoys torturing prisoners.
Death[]
Lieutenant Tay happily kills Co Bao with his AKM.
Lieutenant Tay spotted Co Bao nursing Rambo's wounds and had his men hide. When Co left the area and entered the open, he had his men fire on her with him, killing her. Seeing her as a traitor, he enjoyed seeing her die. Rambo pulled his AKM assault rifle and gunned down Tay's men, while the cowardly Tay fled into the jungle. Tay encountered Rambo in the jungle later on and started shooting at Rambo with his own AKM. But when it ran out of bullets, he drew his Yugoslavian Zastava M57 pistol and emptied it unsuccessfully. Rambo then drew his compound bow and screwed an explosive torque tip onto an arrow and launched it at Tay's chest, causing him to explode completely to his death, thus avenging the death of Co Bao.
Lieutenant Tay tries to get one last shot at Rambo in Rambo: First Blood Part II.
Legacy[]
Tay explodes.
Tay's death is arguably the most memorable in the entire series, and it has been parodied and homaged numerous times, including the films UHF and Hot Shots! Part Deux. It is immortal in popular culture as one of the greatest action movie deaths of all time; one of the most graphic and appropriate for such a vile character. Freeze-framing when the arrow struck Tay confirmed an exploding scarecrow prop was used.
The Vietnamese were extremely offended that Tay resembled a Japanese WWII officer instead of the more correct Communist Vietnamese officer uniform, since they fought against Japanese occupation on the allied side during that conflict.